


Play Me A Song, Write Me A Story

by phanimist



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 14:28:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6858724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phanimist/pseuds/phanimist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan is an English teacher who loves words but doesn’t quite love his job, and Phil is the new band conductor/music teacher with bright blue eyes that Dan loves to describe.Their friendship blossoms instantly, despite both of them wanting more right from the start. </p><p>Or, alternate summary: A shit ton of fluff with teacher x teacher action that isn't smut i'm sorry</p>
            </blockquote>





	Play Me A Song, Write Me A Story

It was another awful Monday morning in the life of Dan Howell, his coffee slightly too bitter and his briefcase just a little too heavy as he strode through the front doors of the school, the heating actually on for a change. The public schools system was trying to save money, so some mornings they didn’t put the heater on despite the February cold. He scuffed his boots on the mat to wipe the snow away before moving to set up the set of Everest-like stairs to the English hall, cursing the lack of elevators in poorly funded school systems.

Dan hadn’t signed up to be an English teacher for this. He wanted to teach kids to love words as he had, teach them how to use the words in ways they liked for themselves. He didn’t want to teach a bunch of unwilling kids how to use the proper ‘your’ in sentences. He didn’t want to force essay structures on them. He was here regardless, following curriculum as an employee would despite everything about it tasting almost as bitter to him as his coffee did.

Dan found the keys to his room in the bottom of his pocket (thank God) and went to unlock the door, the familiar click letting him into the dark room. Despite the fact that Dan hated the curriculum, he actually liked his room. Quotes and posters lined the walls, not one about grammar or sentence structure. He had poetry books and all of Shakespeare’s plays on a shelf to the left of the class. He was allowed to make the English room 'one that fit for his teaching styles and personality’, or so he’d been told upon accepting the job. He hadn’t known that it would be one of the things he could control about his teaching.

First and second period went slowly as usual. Dan droned on about plot styles for at least half an hour before letting them do group work. He could hear so many off-topic conversations from his desk at the back of the room, but he couldn’t find it in himself to point it out. Dan wasn’t sure what had happened to him. English was one of his favourite things to teach to the point where he couldn’t see him teaching anything else, so why had his job gone sour? He should be finding ways to inspire the kids while fitting the board’s curriculum, yet here he was. He was sat at his desk doing the same thing he’d done on Friday and the day before that. He hated it.

When lunch finally came it was a relief to everyone in the room. Dan was pretty sure he heard a collective exhale across the student’s desks. The kids filed out of the room, some offering a quiet 'bye Mr. Howell’ as they left. Dan would smile in reply, knowing the students didn’t like him. He was just another boring teacher.

Usually he’d eat in the English office, but his coworker, Mrs. Hoffman, a superior teacher in all ways, was out for the day. A supply was in her place, and that supply would likely want to talk about the pay of the permanent job they’d be hoping to find soon. Dan wasn’t really up for that, so he set off down the stairs towards the staff room. He weaved through students littering the halls, no one shooting him a second glance. He passed the math room, waving to the principle who caught his eye along the way. Dan found himself lost in thought, wondering if the principle hated his job too, just as he reached the music hall. He was cut from his thoughts when he heard the sudden exclamation of noise. It was the band.

Now Dan had heard the band play before. The assemblies had a required attendance for teachers, and a performance by the school’s band was not an unlikely occurrence. Mr. James, the band conductor and music teacher, wasn’t a student favourite by any means. Most of the band members only joined for extra credit despite the fact that none of the student body thought they merited it.

The band he was hearing right now, however, was not that band. Dan couldn’t hear the saxophones screaming over anyone else as they held their warm up note. He couldn’t hear the flutes piercing the air around them. He only heard the band as a whole, the sounds of all the instruments melding and twisting around each other. The sound cut off all at once, and then there was silence. Dan moved to peer into the music room window to find the faces of the 50 or so band members looking around at each other, stunned. At the front of the room wasn’t Mr. James, but clearly a man Dan had never seen before. Said man let out an unfamiliar laugh, a very animated one at that, and the noise seemed to bring a smile to the players faces. The band students started to stand to presumably pack up moments later, but Dan hovered around the doorway even after they started to file out. Once the final students were trickling out of the room, throwing comments like 'what was that?’ and 'apparently I’ve been playing my instrument wrong!’ Dan stepped into the doorway.

The man who had been at the front of the room was now at the back, hovering over a briefcase with a stack of papers. He looked up to meet Dan’s curious gaze from the doorway, offering him a smile.

And wow, that smile lit up the room. It practically radiated and reflected all the good in the world. His radiant blue eyes could be compared to a swimming pool with their depth and colour. It took Dan a moment to regain composure before coming to and hoping said man hadn’t said anything. He only smiled awkwardly before standing straighter, lifting his arm to run a hand through his fringe distractedly. The man’s smile had faded slightly, probably waiting for Dan to speak. His blue eyes took in Dan’s appearance, probably wondering why the fuck he was here. Dan immediately began to speak.

“Sorry,” He laughed awkwardly. “I’ve just never heard those kids, you know, play in tune.” The man laughed at that, lowering his gaze back to his briefcase. His cheeks were tinted pink, a never ending supply of joy found on his face without any motive. Dan could feel himself picking up on it. He looked like a protagonist.

“They could do it, they just didn’t know how I guess.” The man replied, looking up and shrugging at Dan. Dan smiled and nodded, leaning against the doorway subconsciously. He mentally cringed in doing so, because he really didn’t want to pull the whole cliche ordeal, but man this guy was pretty.

“I haven’t seen you before either,” Dan replied after moment’s pause, really trying to keep conversation going, swallowing awkwardly. The other didn’t seem to pick up on it. “I mean, I don’t typically come down to music hall-” Dan faded out, mentally yelling at himself.

“I’m the new music teacher.” The other man filled in, closing his brief case and heading towards the front of the room where Dan was. “I got the call just this weekend, actually. Pretty short notice. The other one quit after deciding that teaching wasn’t their thing.”

Dan had to laugh at the words. “I’d agree with that statement.” He smiled, the other reciprocating with a laugh. Dan collected himself moments later, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself. “I’m Dan, by the way. Dan Howell.”

“Phil.” Phil replied, extending a hand which Dan moved off of the wall to shake. Soft. “More commonly known as Mr. Lester now, I guess.” He smiled. “What do you teach?”

“English.” Dan practically sighed. He doesn’t know when it became more of an exhale instead of a statement, but it probably happened around the same time that he’d started working at this school. Phil frowned, picking up on it. Dan was quick to speak again, not wanting to come across as the negative pessimist he was becoming. “I love it, don’t get me wrong. The curriculum just isn’t what I love about it.”

“Ah,” Phil nodded, clearing understanding. He took a moment to think about what Dan said before replying. “I guess that’s the good thing about music. There’s a curriculum, but you get to create the things that fit within it. Write-as-you-go kind of thing.”

“That’s a good way to look at it, actually.” Dan mumbled. Maybe if he put enough effort into it, he could find a way to work like the music program did. He could create things again. They might be a bit duller than he’d like, but nothing was dull compared to his current assignments. He looked up again to meet Phil’s gaze that held an unreadable expression. Phil seemed surprised at the sudden eye contact, like he was being drawn out of thought.

“I mean, you’ve gotta make the best with what you can.” He smiled. If Dan had to pick one thing to compare Phil to, it’d be that one ray of sun that peaks through the clouds that you can see breaking through the trees in front of you.

“Yeah.” Dan exhaled, still in awe in respect to how positive Phil was. He shuffled upon realizing how awkward and dead-end his reply had been, thinking of how to continue.

“I’ve gotta go grab lunch-” Phil started, shifting towards the doorway and causing Dan to jump out of the way, nearly loosing balance. “-but it was really nice to meet you! Hopefully I’ll see you around?”

Dan nodded, smiling at the other teacher. “Of course. I hope you like working here.” He replied. He’d hope that for anyone honestly, but a part of him really hoped Phil wouldn’t be dulled by their way of life here. Phil smiled in reply, moving past Dan to the exit that took him to the parking lot. Dan watched him walk off, not really thinking about what he was doing until a quiet laugh broke him out of his thoughts.

“All the students really like him, but it seems like you do too.” An older girl noted, smiling as she slung a backpack over her shoulder and left for the staircase. Dan could feel his face flushing. He was thankful he didn’t recognize the student, because she was right and she knew it.

 

The next day, Dan didn’t find himself with an aggressive permanent grimace on his face. He barely complained when he stepped through the front doors to find a suspicious lack of heating and found himself lost in thought as he covered step after step on the way to English hall.

He gave his first and second period classes a new assignment; they had to create a character and describe the character in as much detail as possible, using descriptive language and events to help define the person in the meantime. It could be a real human or one made up, but he offered that maybe, if the works were good enough, he could talk to the art department about creating a visual for each of the descriptive works. The students chatted animatedly about the project when they were dismissed to work, and Dan found himself thinking about how he would describe Phil if he were doing said project.

The only colour he could think of was blue when the other teacher came to mind, a blue that kind of resembled the sky when it was without a cloud. The blue was more of a blue that circled it’s way into the waves of the ocean though, the powerful movement calming instead of threatening and thrashing. Dan almost didn’t hear the bell ring.

He was quick to pack his bag when it did though, waving to Mrs. Hoffman as he passed the English office. She shot him a smile as well as a confused look as Dan disappeared down the stairs, clearly acting a bit more upbeat than usual. Dan slithered around the students once more before coming to the music hall, hearing the band as soon as he opened the doors. They had the same noise as they had the day before, the sudden change clearly not a fluke. Dan blushed when he noticed the same girl from yesterday in the hallway. She noticed him too, and laughed lightly before giving him a knowing look, disappearing up the stairs.

Dan didn’t dwell on it as he was drawn to the sound coming from the music room. He wasn’t even sure why he was there, because band practiced the full length of lunch on Tuesdays, but he was here nonetheless. He piece they were playing sounded familiar, probably due to already being played once before at a school performance he’d half listened to. This version, of course was in tune.

The music stopped all of a sudden, and he could hear Phil’s voice as animated as it had been yesterday.

“Clarinets; I’m very sorry about the high C in the last bar on page three-” Some students laughed. “So if you really can’t play across the bridge yet then try opting for the lower C that plays in the same tone as the trumpets. It’ll meld together and help eliminate the squeaking.” More laughs followed before the band started to play again. Dan peered into the window as they did so, noticing how much more upbeat the band looked. When they had played for about thirty seconds they stopped again, the clarinets in the front row smiling as Phil complimented them. One of the flute players, also in the front row, caught Dan’s eye. Dan recognized her from one of his classes and was quick to duck away and back up the stairs. He heard the door to the music room open as soon as he was around the corner, followed by Phil laughing. “There’s no one here, Katie.” Dan exhaled and set off towards the English office again, flushed.

“I saw Mr. Howell there a minute ago!” Katie laughed, beaming at Mr. Lester. Phil perked up at the familiar name of the teacher who’d popped in yesterday. Part of him really hoped Dan had been there, as he really wouldn’t mind talking to him again. Being able to look at his nice face probably wouldn’t hurt, either. Dan reminded him of the flute. It was quiet, but could tell a story with simple gestures. The English teacher looked like he told a story.

“Well if he was there a minute ago, he isn’t now.” Phil remarked, smiling as he raised his conducting stick to start the band again. Everyone raised their instruments except for Katie.

“You’re blushing.” She mumbled quietly with a smirk, raising her flute to her mouth as the others gave a soft laugh. Phil rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the remark as he’d only flush further.

“From bar 21.” He said simply.

 

At the end of the day, Dan was more than ready to go home. His year 10 class had just handed their essays in to be marked, so he guessed that that was what his week would be full of. Dan was in a sleepy daze as he slipped down the stairs, not even looking where he was going as he arrived at the main doors.

Phil had just left ahead of him, and looked back as soon as he’d heard someone approaching. Upon realizing it was Dan he’d tried to reach back and hold the door open, but the wicked patch of ice he’d been trying to narrowly avoid thought otherwise. Dan resurfaced from his thoughts as he met Phil’s gaze for a split second before the other began to fall. Dan dropped his briefcase and reached forward to hold Phil up, though the patch of ice caught him off guard as well.

The two stumbled for a minute, Dan still gripping Phil’s lower arm to support him and for his own balance. In a last effort to keep them standing, Phil steadied himself as a hand found it’s way to Dan’s hip. It worked, as the two immediately stopped wobbling around, but Dan’s heart rate began to jump. When Phil looked up to meet his eyes, neither looked away for a good 5 seconds before Phil quickly removed his hand and stepped back, slipping and falling onto the ice despite their previous struggle with a quiet 'oof’.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Dan asked animatedly, stifling an obvious laugh. Phil, embarrassed, nodded before struggling to find his feet. Dan extended a gloved hand to help him up which Phil took gladly as he pulled himself to his feet, grimacing a little at the pain in his butt and lower back. Dan smiled empathetically.

“Yeah,” Phil laughed. “I’m not coordinated in the slightest, so I’m pretty used to this.” Dan smiled, dropping Phil’s hand once he was finally standing.

“I’m not either, don’t worry.” He laughed. “How was your second day?”

“Pretty good.” Phil smiled, nodding. “Band went well, and the year 11 class I have at the end of the day is generally pretty good so I don’t have to do much other than stand there which is nice.”

“Do you have a planning period?” Dan asked, tilting his head. Part of him hoped he had the same spare as Phil. Maybe, just maybe, he’d invite him to get coffee or something as a 'welcome to the school’ kind of thing. Totally not because he was stunning and, from what Dan could tell, a great person. Phil nodded, blue eyes smiling.

“Third.” He replied. Dan contained his frown. “It makes for a longer lunch, which is nice.” Dan nodded in reply to that, simply holding Phil’s eye contact for a few seconds, getting somewhat caught up in looking at the bright blue. “When’s yours?”

“Last.” Dan replied immediately, snapping out of his haze.

“Well, you’re welcome to drop by the music room if you wanna sit and listen.” Phil offered with a smile, hoping Dan had been there at lunch listening to band and would take him up on the offer. He quickly backtracked on the invitation anyway, in case he didn’t care to. “I mean- if you want to…” Dan smiled.

“I might take you up on that,” He replied cheerfully, bending down to pick the briefcase he had yet to retrieve after attempting to catch Phil. The two wordlessly started walking further towards the parking lot.

“You’re welcome in the music room whenever.” Phil beamed, hopeful Dan would take that into consideration.

“I’d welcome you up to English hall, but essay-writing isn’t always the most interesting. ” Dan laughed.

“Lemme know if you ever need the company, then.” Phil replied, his pathway beginning to drift from Dan’s as he headed towards his car. “Have a good night!”

“You too, I’ll see you around tomorrow.” Dan smiled, Phil returning the glance before Dan turned away. When he got into his car and turned the engine on, the radio was on. Dan didn’t bother turning the song off, as the background instruments and vocals reminded him of the music teacher. That night, he fell asleep thinking of all the words he could use to describe the colour blue.

 

On Wednesday, Dan really couldn’t wait until the end of the day despite it only being first period. He was sat at his desk, reading through old poems he’d found in an old book at the back of the room as his students filed into the room. When a pair of feet stopped by his desk, Dan looked up.

“You were watching band yesterday, weren’t you?” The girl, Katie, asked. Dan nodded slightly.

“You were playing so well and that caught my eye on the way by, why?” Dan replied, turning in his chair more to face the young year 9 girl. She averted her gaze quickly due to the full attention before looking back.

“I pointed it out to Mr. Lester, and he was totally blushing when I mentioned your name.” She smiled. “You two would get along really well.” Dan really had to fight the slight smile as he felt his heart flip.

“What are you saying, Katie?” Dan sighed, raising his eyebrows. She shrugged with a smirk, heading off to her desk without another word. Dan frowned, but didn’t think much of her motives to bring it up. He really hoped he wasn’t blushing, but a giggle from the front of the room made him bury his face in his book just a little more to be safe.

 

When lunch finally came, Dan had to restrain himself from going to the music room. Hell, Phil had practically invited him, but he didn’t want to seem over eager. Instead, he found himself eating with Mrs. Hoffman again for the first time this week, who seemed to notice how spacey Dan was and dropped conversation within ten minutes.

By the time that the end of third period rolled around, Dan was beginning to question how to do this. Did he walk up to the music room door and knock? Did he let himself in? Did he take his time or get there right away? He was obviously overthinking this, but couldn’t bring himself to stop. When the period bell finally rang he gathered his stuff, laptop in hand, and waited until the next period bell rang before leaving. He didn’t particularly want to be caught up in the flood of students.

When he finally got down to the music room, heart palpitating, he knocked lightly and then pushed the door open. He immediately found Phil at the front of the room, who had been joking around with a student who was setting their instrument up when Dan had caught his attention. A smile automatically found the music teacher’s face.

“Mind if I join you?” Dan asked quietly, returning the smile. Most of the class looked up and noticed Dan’s presence only to only look right back down at their instruments, continuing to set up.

“Come on in.” Phil welcomed in reply, cheeriness enveloping his features. “You can sit at my desk if you wanna get any work done, or listen wherever.” Dan nodded, offering a small smile in gratitude.

“I may mark a little, but I doubt my interest in that will last very long, if at all.” Dan laughed in reply. Phil nodded, smiling at Dan, holding his gaze longer than he probably should have. Dan was the first to look away, upon noticing a student was still watching them interact. He recognized the girl immediately. It was the girl from outside the music hall who’d seen Dan listening to band the day Phil had gotten here. He blushed under her gaze and she smiled, Phil only admiring the colour in Dan’s cheeks.

“Alright,” Phil called, gaining the class’s attention. Dan settled in Phil’s desk at the side of the room, admiring the neat folders and books he’d organized. He was vaguely aware of Phil giving the class instructions as they flipped through their music, but Dan was admiring the family photos Phil had littering his desk. They varied from younger photos to more recent ones, but either way Phil really was beautiful. Dan had just decided that red was a great colour on the other teacher as the class started to play a scale of sorts in warm up.

“How about we start with-” Phil droned, flipping through some pages. “Sonatina in G?” There was a lot of page flipping then, and Phil caught Dan watching him from the side of class and offered him a small smile. “Unless you have any song requests, Mr. Howell?”

Dan blushed as the whole class turned to him, the girl from the hallway beaming at him. He shrugged. “Sonatina in G sounds pretty great to me.” He replied jokingly, not knowing the first thing about music truthfully. He loved it, sure, but he wasn’t familiar with any pieces like that.

“Alright,” Phil laughed, raising his baton to start counting the class in. Dan was unfortunately sitting pretty close to the drums at the back of the room, meaning he couldn’t particularly hear the melody all too clearly, but the class was still pretty good and in tune. Phil stopped them after ten or so bars oddly enough, the class looking confused. “I think it’s missing something.” Phil smiled, turning to Dan who’s eyes widened.

“Why are you looking at me?!” He asked somewhat incredulously, the class turning to him amused and then back to Phil.

“I can’t decide whether I want to make you play an instrument or help me conduct.” Phil frowned jokingly, making what he thought was probably a thinking face. The class laughed, the familiar girl only grinning.

“I am not playing.” Dan stated stubbornly, despite the obvious smile he was sporting. Phil pouted, and Dan gave him a look. “No.” Phil rolled his eyes.

“Fine. Come conduct with me at least?” He pouted again, putting extra effort into the head tilt and puppy dog eyes. It was Dan’s turn to roll his eyes at that, pushing himself out of Phil’s office chair and up to the front. The class erupted into joking applause as Dan stood at the front, Phil tucking the baton under his arm to join in. Dan gave a sarcastic bow in reply before shaking his head at the class.

“How does one conduct?” Dan asked, amused.

“You basically keep the beat for the group. That’s all.” Phil shrugged, some of the kids in the front row laughing slightly.

“I have a feeling there’s more to it than that.” Dan mused, taking the baton that Phil had extended his way with reluctance. “But okay.” He stood there awkwardly for a moment before looking back to Phil again. “I have no idea how to do this.” He said quietly, looking slightly worried in Phil’s eyes.

“You’re fine, look.” Phil replied, grabbing hold of Dan’s wrist and moving it to lift the baton. In response, the band brought their instruments to their lips. Dan turned to Phil with a questioning and curious look, hoping he wasn’t blushing. Phil smiled and simply began to move Dan’s hand in a star pattern, counting the band in. They started to play when Phil drew the tip of the star on the fourth beat. Dan had almost forgotten to think, so when Phil let go of his hand by the eighth bar he barely remembered to move on his own the way Phil had been doing. Withing ten seconds he’d fucked the pattern up, most of the instruments falling out of beat. Phil laughed quietly next to him, and so Dan handed the baton back. Phil made a signal with his hand, the instruments stopping instantly.

“That’s too much power.” Dan laughed quietly.

“You did good, I mean you kept the beat for longer than I thought you would.” Phil replied reassuringly, Dan rolling his eyes.

“Sure.” Dan joked. “That’s hard. I’ll give you credit.”

“If you think conducting is hard we should get you on the saxophone.” Phil laughed, the entire band laughing quietly as well. Dan shook his head immediately.

“No way.” He replied. Phil pouted once more. “Ph- Mr. Lester-” Dan deadpanned, correcting himself and coughing awkwardly. “I refuse to play the saxophone.”

“Trumpet? It’s easier!”

“You have a class to teach!” Dan argued. Phil shrugged, offering a small smile. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me helping you learn an instrument. We’re here to learn. Plus, I can turn this into a learning thing.” Phil’s words brought a chorus of 'come on’ and 'yeah’ from the students, Dan rolling his eyes.

“I hate you.” Dan mumbled, smiling at Phil.

“No you don’t.” Phil laughed, moving to the edge of the room to grab a trumpet case. He quickly washed the mouth piece and assembled it, handing it to Dan. “Alright, who can tell Dan how to blow air properly so it makes the right noise?” Two trumpets raised their hand. Phil picked a tall boy with dark hair.

“Keep your cheeks tight and blow right through the instrument through really tight lips.” He stated, his words coming out like a vague question at the end. Phil nodded in reassurance, turning to Dan, smiling.

“Try that.” He instructed, Dan shooting him a 'there’s no way I can do this’ look before attempting. His cheeks blew out like a puffer fish as he struggled to make a noise. Phil laughed softly, poking a finger to Dan’s inflated cheek teasingly. “Tighten your face.” He laughed.

The rest of the class was spent teaching Dan to play the trumpet, students correcting his technique and tone the whole way. About halfway through Dan really did take interest in learning once he’d made a noise, and by the end of the class he could almost play the B flat concert scale with the exception of the high C. Phil dismissed the class early without any real theory homework, which was apparently a huge blessing to the students as they all left chatting happily.

“You’re not bad.” Phil smiled once the last kid had left, sitting in one of the front row chairs.

“My face hurts,” Dan laughed in reply, pouting as he rubbed at the sides of his face. “How do band players do that for so long?”

“They practice, and don’t spend most of their time writing and marking.” Phil replied. Dan sighed.

“It’s a lot more fun down here than it is up in English, that’s for sure.” He smiled softly, disassembling the trumpet he’d been playing and moving to wash the mouthpiece before putting it away.

“You’ve gotta make it fun.” Phil replied simply. Dan still wasn’t sure how he made something like that sound so easy, but he did, and Dan was grateful for it. He’d only known Phil for three days now, but he’d already stopped dreading coming to work everyday. Dan held the eye contact, not replying to the other until a small smile broke out across his face.

“I’ll try.”

 

The next day was more quiet. Dan wasn’t planning on dropping by Phil’s class during fourth period, as he figured Phil was probably going to actually teach something today. Distraction was probably unwanted. He did, however, run into Phil at the end of the day when they both crossed paths in the staff room, greetings and conversations starting almost instantly like they’d known each other for months, forget four days. The two conversed lightly as they left the building, shrugging on coats and discussing the impending deadline for marking as they passed every other staff member without a word. The conversation weaved it’s way around what kind of music Phil liked besides Mozart, and the two ended up finding common interest as they reached the edge of the parking lot.

“Resistance really is a great song, I’ll agree with you, but I’ve gotta say that Starlight has an incredible beat.”

“Muse in general is incredible. I am 100% here for Matt Bellamy.” Dan sighed, Phil laughing and nodding in agreement.

“Band doesn’t practice tomorrow,” Phil began, distractedly shifting his hands to grip his bag differently. “Come eat in the music office?”

“Sure,” Dan smiled, ignoring the way his heart picked up. “I’ll be there.” They parted ways with plans for lunch, and Phil fell asleep with Sonatina in G stuck in his head because the song reminded him of Dan.

Dan spent lunch the next day eating in the music room, Muse playing lightly over the speakers as the two talked. He was surprised how easily conversation seemed to come between them, similarities popping up at every turn. They first disagreed on interests when Phil pulled a box of raisins from his bag, Dan crinkling his nose in disgust.

The following day Dan joined the fourth period music class once more, but spent his time marking quietly at the back of the room with the lovely background noise of Phil’s conducted music. He found it easy to focus with the lulling notes in the background, though Phil’s interruptions would sometimes distract him momentarily. It was like Dan didn’t want to miss a thing he said.

That night before leaving the school, the two exchanged numbers. Dan’s silent argument for it was 'in case Phil fell on ice and actually hurt himself’ and Phil’s excuse was 'in case Dan got the sudden urge to conduct again’ which had been meant in a slightly more teasing light.

The weekend felt off. Dan got some marking done, but overall it was weird not being able to slip down a set of stairs and join Phil in the music room whenever he wanted to take a break. He wanted to text the other teacher, but felt like he needed an excuse to do so. He could ask a question about the briefing all the teachers had to attend to on Monday morning, but Phil likely knew less than he did. He could ask Phil if he needed help figuring it out, but then realized he was being ridiculous.

 

Dan was strangely glad when Monday did finally roll around. Him and Phil sat on opposite sides of the table during briefing, but would shoot each other glances whenever bored or when in need to exchange a look that basically said 'oh my god the science department is full of assholes’.

 

The following weeks, Dan and Phil fell into a sort of routine. Dan would join Phil’s music class during last period, sitting quietly working or listening at the back of the room, and on Thursdays he’d come eat lunch with Phil in exchange for band practice. Phil would come up to English once in a while during third period, but it was rare as he knew Dan actually had a class to teach. Texts weren’t an uncommon occurrence anymore though, as whenever either was bored with classes it was the first thing they resorted to. Phil would get a text during band practice and all the students would give him a knowing look. Dan would accidentally leave his phone on vibrate during a lesson once in a while, Katie and the other girls at her table giggling at him. They all knew.

The students in band and in both of their classes seemed to be picking up on their friendship too, the way they always seemed to be around each other when out of the classroom, sometime while in it regardless. The staff were probably starting to suspect something, but it wasn’t like they cared. With the looming deadline for report cards hanging above their heads, Dan and Phil stayed together. Early morning coffee turned into bi-hourly coffee some days as they marked relentlessly. Most of their time spent together was spent in silence nowadays, flooded with lesson plans, numbers, and papers, but they were still together and they were getting through it.

Dan was the one with the most paperwork, but at least marking essays had more of an outline than music. It was hard to create his own guidelines, but Phil was working with it. Exams were coming up at least, meaning they both got a break for a few days while the students wrote and preformed, only awaiting to be swamped in more numbers.

They were both staying after hours in the music room today, papers sprawled around the floor where Dan was laying on the carpet of the music room, marking away. Phil was sitting against the wall a few metres away, finding sheet music and certain music movements to have the students play for the final sight reading test. He tapped along to the beat playing in his headphones as Dan watched him, needing a distraction. Deciding he was bored, Dan quietly crumpled a piece of lined paper and lightly threw it across the room. It hit Phil’s forehead, the older nearly having a heart attack. Dan giggled lightly when Phil got him a look, cringing away and laughing more when Phil threw the paper right back at him.

“I say we call it quits.” Dan mumbled once they’d settled down moments later. Phil half groaned half sighed, taking his headphones out.

“Yeah.” Phil said, pushing himself up and moving to extend a hand to Dan. Despite being Phil’s friend for a month or two now, his heart still hadn’t stopped beating fast when they were around each other. Dan took his hand and rolled off the floor, pulling himself up. Phil nearly fell over, but laughed softly as he finally got Dan to his feet. He raised their intertwined hands and pushed them towards Dan’s chest, shoving him playfully before dropping his hand.

The next morning, Dan got a text right before he left for work.

To Dan; 7:30am

Going for a coffee run, want anything? x

Dan smiled at the use of the x, as that was something he’d first done a week ago with a thudding heart. Part of him longed to tell Phil about his 'maybe not platonic feelings’, but the majority of him wanted to have his guaranteed presence. Maybe he’d do it one day.

**To Phil; 7:31am**

_Yes plz_

Phil knew what he ordered by now, the two having gone out for coffee sometimes during lunch or while marking. Dan hurriedly shrugged his coat on and headed out the door. He was glad he’d started to love work again, and he only had Phil to thank.

When Dan pulled into the parking lot he noticed Phil’s car was already sitting in it’s usual spot, so he pulled up next to it.

**To Phil:**

_Where r u?_

Phil replied seconds later.

**To Dan; 8:01am**

_Music room w band_

Dan made a stop up at the English office to drop his coat and bags off before sliding down to the music hall. He didn’t knock before pushing the door open, as the band was pretty used to seeing him walk in and out of here freely nowadays. Most of them didn’t even glance at the door when it opened. Phil, in the middle of conducting, pointed to the back of the room with his free hand towards the two coffees sitting at his desk. Dan nodded and walked that way, falling into Phil’s chair nonchalantly to listen while taking a sip of the coffee. He also dropped $5 onto the table discreetly, knowing Phil hated when he paid him back and would usually refuse to accept the money. Dan was the same way, of course, but he still left the money. The band’s song came to and end, and Dan began to clap from the back of the room. The band turned to smile at him then, though Phil’s smile was brighter than all of their smiles combined.

“Great, as always.” Dan commended, the comment seeming to be more directed at Phil as he shot him a smile.

“Alright, pack up early today, guys. Don’t forget permission slips on the way out.” Phil instructed, the students beginning to disassemble instruments. Phil made his way to the back of the room to greet Dan, but was stopped halfway by a saxophone player.

“Is Mr. Howell the second supervisor?” He asked casually, pointing to the form he’d picked up for a trip of sorts. Phil opened his mouth to reply before noticing Dan’s curious and confused expression.

“Just about to ask him.” Phil smiled softly, Dan raising his eyebrows. The saxophone player made an 'o’ shape with his lips before walking off, nudging another player on the way and shooting them a smirk. Dan rolled his eyes before Phil caught his attention again. “Regionals are next week, and two adults are needed for an overnight stay with this many kids.” He explained, gesturing to the gradually emptying room. “I was wondering if you’d like to be my plus one of sorts?”

Dan’s immediate smile was enough of an answer honestly. “How on earth am I going to survive more time spent with you?” He muttered sarcastically, one of the students scoffing on their way by. “I’ll talk to the English Department about getting a sub, but of course.” Dan replied, Phil smiling.

“Awesome. We’ll have to share a room, but the cost is handled for teachers by the board so we don’t have to worry about anything like that.” Phil said, Dan nodding along despite being caught up on 'sharing a room’. The mere thought brought a smile to his face, but at a mere glance at the clock it looked like the conversation would be cut short.

“Talk more after school?” Dan inquired, picking the coffee up off the desk and gesturing towards the clock. Phil nodded in acknowledgment and agreement. “Alright, thank you for the coffee.” He beamed, setting towards the doorway.

“See you then.” Phil smiled in farewell, the butterflies in his stomach continuing to thrash.

The trip was tomorrow morning, and Dan had yet to pack most of his stuff at 7pm. He was due at the school for a 7am bus too, meaning that he’d likely need a whole lot of sleep. He didn’t quite know what to pack either. Phil had told him that the competition was a pretty big deal, so he’d have to probably wear more formal things but he wasn’t quite sure what that entailed. He therefore called Phil, who picked up on the third ring.

“Heyhey Howell.” He laughed into the phone, Dan scoffing with laughter.

“Never greet me like that again.” He replied jokingly, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. “What are you bringing for formal wear? I’m stumped.” Phil sighed.

“Well I’m at the front, so I’ve got dress pants and a jacket and everything, but you’d be fine with a white or black button up shirt, maybe a sports coat if you really wanted. You wouldn’t be wearing anything much different than the other adults either way.” He replied, Dan exhaling.

“Alright,” he smiled, letting silence fall over the phone line for a few seconds. “Are you nervous?”

“I mean yeah,” Phil laughed quietly. “I want them to do well. They’ve come so far this year.”

“You guys’ll be fine..” Dan reassured with a smile despite the fact that Phil couldn’t see it.

“I’m also nervous because I might fall over while standing in front of a huge audience or something like that.” Phil joked. Dan had to laugh at that.

“I’ll catch you.” Dan joked lightly, the words ending up as more of a statement instead of a teasing thing. The conversation dropped for a moment or two, and Phil swore Dan could hear his heartbeat through the phone. “I’ve gotta pack, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early.” Phil replied, voice quieter, and Dan could practically hear the smile in his words.

“Unfortunately.” Dan sighed.

Phil bid him farewell, and then hung up. He was really glad Dan had wanted to come with him, though he’d have been more surprised if his answer had been a 'no’. 

 

 

7am came all too soon for everyone on the trip as they huddled outside the school in the mild cold, awaiting the bus. With bags and instrument cases in hand, the students were all conversing as Dan pulled into the parking lot. Once he’d found his way into the sea of students, dragging his small duffel bag behind him, he spotted Phil talking animatedly to a percussionist. Phil also spotted him immediately and waved him over excitedly. Dan smiled.

“Good morning.” Phil beamed as Dan reached his side, wrapping his arm around Dan’s waist to give him a sideways hug in greeting. Dan smiled softly, probably flushing. The percussionist smiled as well. The rumors had, by now, spread throughout the entire band and most of the kids were 80% sure the teachers were practically married. Dan and Phil hadn’t talked about the theories together, but they were both more than aware they existed.

“Morning,” Dan mumbled, stifling a yawn. “Excited?” He asked, directing the question at both Phil and the percussionist. The student nodded, looking like he had an underlying nervous composure. Phil smiled at him.

“You guys will do great,” Phil smiled, seeming like he was reassuring himself as well. Dan moved closer to him in encouragement, Phil turning to look at him. Dan gave him a look that basically said 'you got this’ and Phil knew what he meant without a word.

The bus pulled up at 5 after 7, cutting Dan and Phil’s conversation short as Phil had to organize the students. The percussionist had left almost immediately, leaving the two adults to talk. Dan swore the band was trying to set them up. Phil helped lift cases of the heavier instruments onto the bus, Dan wondering how the hell he could lift a tuba case on his own and hold it up for so long. Dan greeted the bus driver while Phil and the students got set up, not really knowing where he should go but not wanting to bother Phil and ask as he was busy. Dan was also too awkward.

Minutes later, students started rushing towards the back of the bus, leaving the front seat empty for the two teachers. Dan sat down as the first of the students started to trickle on, Phil hopping on last and falling next to Dan with a huff as he rid himself of his jacket and set it at his feet.

“Good?” Dan asked. Phil nodded, smiling at the driver in the rear view mirror. He seemed distant as he talked to the driver for a moment or two before settling into silence as the bus moved forward. Dan nudged his shoulder, gaining his attention to give him a questioning look.

“Nervous.” Phil replied, shrugging his shoulder slightly. Dan gave him an understanding look.

“Don’t be.” He mumbled, getting his phone out and plugging headphones in. He handed one earbud to Phil, who gladly took it, and Dan proceeded to play the playlist that he’d made upon realizing him and Phil had the exact same music taste (when Phil wasn’t listening to Mozart). They spent the rest of the long-ish drive in mostly comfortable silence, peering out the window or at the other when they were looking out the window. 

The band had about two hours at the hotel before they had to leave for the concert hall. The competition was a two day one, meaning the band decided to stay over as their morning performances were at 8am much to literally everyone’s dismay. Phil collected his list of room numbers and pairings, sending kids with room keys up to the fourth floor where they were all staying. Dan and Phil got the room right next to the elevator and stairs, which was supposed to eliminate funny business on behalf of the students though both adults doubted they’d try anything.

Once all the students were settled with a deadline set to meet in the lobby in two hours, Dan and Phil headed to their room to drop their stuff off. Phil sighed upon seeing the one bed. He’d ordered rooms for 56 people, 13 rooms for students sleeping in groups of four and a room for ‘two adults together’, meaning that the adult room they’d been assigned was probably booked in assuming they were a couple. Honestly, who didn’t assume that these days? Dan entered after Phil, neither of them acknowledging the bed verbally as they set their stuff on the side of the room. They’d deal with that later.

“How do we kill two hours?” Phil inquired, sitting on the edge of the bed. Dan shrugged, moving to sit cross legged right next to him. “Hungry?”

“Food wouldn’t hurt.” Dan mumbled with a smile, taking his phone out of his pocket to check for any missed messages. “What can we eat? I don’t think we’re allowed to leave the hotel.” Phil thought for a moment before Dan spoke again. “I have a shit ton of crisps in my bag.” He offered. Phil laughed.

“I’ll make coffee with the shitty machine to accompany it then?” He inquired, both men pushing off the bed once more. Dan nodded.

“Sounds like a plan.”

After eating briefly, the two tried to flip through the channels on TV, failing to find anything interesting before settling into conversation.

“How do competitions like these work?” Dan asked as he turned the TV off, laying back against the headboard. Phil sat on folded legs at the end of the bed, longing to move closer to Dan but resisting the urge.

“You play twice the first day to get scores that rank you for the second day, then on the second day you’re divided into either the lower level and the higher level where you then play two songs to get ranked.” He exhaled. Dan nodded along.

“Where do you think they’ll end up?” he asked.

“Honestly, I doubt they’ll win because there are some amazing schools. I really hope they get higher level though.” He sighed, moving to lay on his back and lay on his hands. Dan extended a leg to poke him with his foot.

“Don’t stress it. You’ve already helped them come so far.” Dan reassured. “The only reason I met you was because the band didn’t sound like a dying goose for once.” Phil had to laugh at that.

“Thanks, Dan.” He smiled, shaking his head softly. 

 

An hour or so of conversing later, both men had to get ready to leave. Phil went to the bathroom to change into his more-formal wear, claiming that Dan would be done far before him anyways as he only had a crisp white shirt and a nice pair of pants to put on. A few minutes later, Phil emerged from the bathroom, leaving Dan to take in his appearance with a smirk.

“You clean up nice.” He remarked, bumping Phil’s shoulder as he walked past. Phil smiled slightly.

“As do you, Mr. Howell.” He laughed, glancing at the nice button up shirt his friend sported, Dan rolling his eyes.

At the two hour mark, everyone had gathered instruments and were headed towards the bus once more, this time headed for the competition just fifteen minutes from the hotel. The chatter was mostly slightly nervous apart from the few louder kids, but Dan could definitely tell Phil was nervous when he shouldn’t be.

Once they’d arrived at the concert hall, Phil went into full overdrive-organizing mode. He checked the band in and headed to the set up room where cases and coats could be dropped off before reserving the warmup room twenty minutes before they played their first song for the judges. Dan had been trailing him, but gave up to follow the students around as they got organized. The next time Dan and Phil spoke was a good half our later once the students were setting up in the warmup room. Dan had been leaning against the wall closest to the doorway when Phil slid up next to him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, Dan snapping his attention up from his phone to his friend’s face. “Stressful.”

“It’s fine, Phil. If you need any help you can ask me.”

“I know, thank you.” Phil genuinely smiled, exhaling immediately after. “I don’t know why I’m nervous. They’re the ones that have to play.”

“You’re nervous because you care.” Dan said simply, shrugging.

“What if I mess the counting up or something? Like, what if my hands get shaky and I lose rhythm?” He asked worriedly. Dan moved off the wall to stand directly in front of him, placing his hands on Phil’s shoulders.

“If you get even a bit worried up there with your counting, look at me.” Dan stated, “I’ll be off to the side obviously, but look at me and try to calm down. You will be 100% fine.” He assured, never losing contact with Phil’s blue eyes. Phil held the gaze for a few seconds before smiling and taking a glance at the clock.

“Thank you.” He almost whispered, pausing before leaning forward to plant a kiss on Dan’s cheek. “For everything.” Some of the band members who’d been watching began whispering excitedly as Phil turned to head up to the front. Dan was probably flushed from head to toe, and he was more than glad when Phil lifted his baton to gain the band’s attention. He definitely needed the recovery time. Phil gave him one glance before he started to count in, and Dan smiled in reassurance. It was all Phil needed. 

Warm up went by in a blur, and all too soon someone was knocking at the door telling them it was time to head out. Dan, who had been sitting by the door, was the only one who’d heard it and had waved to Phil to stop the playing. A quick look of nervousness flashed across his face as he signaled for the band to stop playing, but Dan gave him a look that made him quickly wipe it away. Instructions were given, and within two minutes the band was in the wings waiting for an (incredible) private school to finish their playing. Their level of skill was clearly putting everyone on edge, and all Dan wanted to do was hug Phil until he stopped stressing.

The song came to an end and the applause bounced off of the arching ceilings and tiled walls, and Phil absentmindedly reached for Dan’s hand. Dan forgot the outside noise for a minute, turning to Phil and fully intertwining their fingers, giving a reassuring squeeze. Phil turned at the feeling, Dan not caring about how this would look to other or even caring what this even meant for the two colleagues.

“You’ve got this. I’ll be standing here the whole time.” Dan reassured, Phil nodding as the other team exited on the other side of the stage. The judge with the microphone introduced the next band and Phil exhaled, letting go of Dan’s hand to wave the students onto the stage in their line. The students looked pretty nervous too, but Dan knew they’d all be fine.

Dan could only admire the architecture in this place. The arcing ceilings and the grand windows were enough to make the room incredible, nevermind the accents of red on the seat covers and side stage. The whole scene looked like a piece of art, and Phil’s presence and matching band only added to that. Phil turned to the crowd to introduce their first song of the day.

Just as he was about to count the band in, he glanced at Dan. Dan smiled brightly, and Phil reciprocated with a genuine smile of his own, redirecting to the band to count in.

Their sound was as incredible as it had been the past few weeks in rehearsal. Even from the back, Dan could only hear the sound all the instruments made together. Sure, the saxophones might be a bit louder, but at least they were in tune. Never once did Phil fall off beat, and Dan was really proud and smiley in seeing how put together the band looked. He must have gotten carried away in watching Phil conduct (as he usually did when he watched band practices), because before he knew it their song was over. The band had even properly played their end note, something they’d been working on.

They exited off the opposite side of stage as applause erupted throughout the room, Dan probably clapping the loudest. Phil smiled at him before following the band off to the side, Dan weaving around the next band on stage to get back to their set up room where they’d all be headed. Once he got into the main foyer he caught Phil right before he followed the rest of the band into the set up room, grabbing his wrist and turning him around.

“You did awesome!” He exclaimed proudly, pulling Phil into a quick hug that took him off guard. He made sure to timidly hug back though. Before Phil could thank him, Dan entered the set up room.

“I am the #1 fan of this band. You guys rocked it.” He stated excitedly, gaining the attention of the students. They all smiled and thanked him, Phil laughing tightly at his side.

“We’ve still got once more in about an hour and a half, so don’t get on your high horses yet.” Phil advised, nudging Dan’s shoulder.

“That performance-” Dan said, making grand gestures, “- would give Mozart a run for his money.” Phil rolled his eyes.

“You guys are free to go quickly eat a snack, but you have to make sure to be back in an hour, got it?” Phil called, half of the students pushing out the door after a quick nod. Phil then turned to Dan only to have his shoulders shaken in excitement.

“Brilliant!” He stressed, Phil laughing brightly as he covered Dan’s mouth with his hand.

“Stop that.” He mused, feeling Dan’s smile beneath his hand. He pulled away to find a snack in his own bag, hearing a whispered 'brilliant’ behind him. He ignored it.

 

The second song didn’t disappoint either. The band had played to their full ability, and when the scores were tallied the band ended up making into the top tier. They were the last team to make it, but they’d made it. Phil was all smiley and Dan was over the moon on the way back to the hotel, the kids chatting animatedly among themselves as well. As the bus arrived at the hotel, everyone was told they had half an hour to get ready before they left for dinner at a restaurant downtown they’d called ahead to. As much as Phil wanted to just order 30 pizzas to feed them all he’d figured the parents wouldn’t have liked that idea as much.

Phil shed his formal jacket as soon as he stepped in the doorway of their hotel room, draping it over the chair and stretching his arms. Dan laughed at him, moving over to his suitcase to pull out a more casual but still nice flannel he’d packed for dinner. He unbuttoned his formal shirt to change into it, listening to Phil when he spoke up.

“The only thing I disliked about today was this jacket.” He noted, still stretching his arms.

“I didn’t dislike that jacket at all. Fit you nicely.” Dan smirked, laying his white shirt on the bed and reaching for his red one. Phil stopped himself from checking the other out, instead rolling his eyes and trying to ignore how Dan’s comment affected him.

“Shut up.” He mumbled, trifling through his duffel bag for another shirt to wear to dinner. He settled for a navy one littered with pugs, beginning to change his shirt once Dan had fully buttoned his up.

“I’m going to change into jeans, I’ll be back.” Dan stated, leaving towards the bathroom.

“What’s wrong with changing in here?” Phil asked innocently, shooting Dan a joking smile immediately after.

“Blunt, Phil.” He laughed, dissapearing into the bathroom. Phil took that moment to change into black skinny jeans as well, just buttoning his shirt up once Dan emerged again, having put earings in as well. 

 

Dinner went well generally. Dan and Phil sat at a table at the front of the room near the room’s entrance, preventing kids from running all over the restaurant. They were joined by a few students which limited discussion amongst just the two of them, but neither of them were too salty about it. Music jokes were exchanged, most of which Dan didn’t get though he did enjoy seeing Phil laugh, and they talked about the other schools that had preformed that day. Dan, once more, talked about how great they had done today and all the students agreed.

“I barely remember when we couldn’t play for the life of us.” One student had remarked genuinely, though said in a joking tone. That made Phil smile brightly. Dan had nudged Phil’s shoulder at the comment, giving him a 'well done’ kind of look that made the smile turn bashful.

That night, everyone was instructed to head to bed as soon as possible, because wake up call would be at 6am and the band had an early performance time. They’d have to wait until about two in the afternoon to find out the final scores due to the fact that they’d been blessed (note sarcasm) with the earliest performance of the day.

Dan exaggerated his yawn upon walking into their hotel room, falling onto what he decided was 'his side of the bed’ and closing his eyes. Phil chuckled.

“I’m going to shower.” He said. Dan opened his eyes and smirked.

“Without me?” He joked. Phil rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.” He mumbled, smiling to himself, grabbing pajamas and heading into the washroom.

“Make me.” Dan retorted in the same tone. Phil scoffed.

“I don’t know why I put up with you.” He laughed, dissapearing.

Dan showered after Phil, and the two almost immediately fell into bed. Dan slept without a shirt on apparently, which Phil was really trying not to think too much about as they settled under the covers. Dan was propped on one elbow still to read his phone for the moment, Phil laying on his side while simply watching him do so. When Dan finally finished setting the alarm, he lay back down to face Phil.

“You guys did so good.” He repeated for the thousandth time that day. Phil sighed and turned onto his back. Dan moved closer to almost whisper a 'SO GOOD’, laughing when Phil smiled slightly.

“They did do well.” Phil agreed, Dan poking his arm.

“Because of you.”

“Not true-”

“Phil. They couldn’t play for the life of them until you showed up. You taught them to love playing. They joined for the extra credit, but they’re actually having fun.” Dan stressed, Phil turning to look at him as he continued. “I want to make my kids learn to love words, and watching you with this band has really helped me in doing so. You help everyone around you and it’s amazing.” Phil blushed, smiling softly.

“Thank you. For literally everything.” Phil sighed, pausing for a few moments before continuing. “Now go to sleep before I cry or something.” Dan laughed. 

 

When the alarm sounded the next morning, Phil woke up to Dan curled up at his side, rubbing his eyes as he pushed himself up to set the phone on snooze. Morning Dan, still groggy, then fell back on top of Phil who let out an 'oof’ and laughed gently. Phil wasn’t surprised nor complaining that they’d ended up curled around each other, but they really did have to wake up. “Dan.” He stressed, pushing the younger’s curled hair out of his eyes. “Dan.” He repeated. Dan groaned as Phil poked his nose multiple times. “We have to get up.”

“Too early.”

“Too bad.”

Phil basically rolled Dan off of him, and then rolled him once more when he didn’t move. Dan ended up almost falling out of bed, though he luckily caught himself. He then shot Phil a glare, Phil knowing he’d won by just the simple look, and then forced himself out of bed. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

 

The early morning performance went well. All the kids had successfully woken up and had arrived at the lobby on time. Phil had practically dragged Dan to the elevator with their bags in hand to check out as Dan clung to his coffee after being barely awake. When they arrived in the lobby themselves, the students already present, Phil sat Dan in a chair before walking towards the receptionist desk. When Phil returned he mumbled something to the waiting group of kids about Dan’s ridiculous need to sleep in, resulting in quiet laughter and a tired look from Dan, who took another sip of his coffee in spite.

Their final two songs that had been practiced relentlessly were almost without fault, and after multiple hours of impatient waiting it was revealed that the band had placed third out of six teams in the top level. Dan had been over the top smiley, while Phil had been quite humble.

“I can’t believe they sounded like they were dying just months ago, and now they did this well!” He’d exclaimed excitedly, Phil laughing and shaking his head.

“They’ve always been capable, but from what I’ve heard the old music teacher wasn’t the best.” Phil joked. Dan snorted.

“He was the worst.” He laughed as the two led the students towards the bus waiting to take them back. As always the majority of the students rushed to the back, leaving Dan and Phil the front seat. There were actually two benches available, but it wasn’t like either of them was going to split from the other. Phil slipped into the window seat as Dan greeted the driver, slumping against the wall of the bus. He hadn’t felt it before this, but the past two days had been a rollercoaster on his emotions and that was starting to take it’s toll. Dan glanced over at Phil and smiled as the engine roared to life, nudging him to get his attention.

“You look like you could nap for 30 years if you weren’t careful.” He joked, Phil rolling his eyes as Dan subconsciously shifted closer to him.

“I’m not that tired,” Phil mumbled in spite, pouting sarcastically. Dan scoffed. “All I did was wave a baton around and make sure a group of teenagers didn’t commit homicide.”

“Right,” Dan laughed. “That’s why you could use a nap.” Phil shook his head stubbornly, turning to look out the window as the two fell into a comfortable silence, the chattering students serving as background noise.

Twenty minutes later, Dan felt a weight slump against him. He looked down just as Phil’s head lulled to the side onto his shoulder, lips parted and eyes closed. Dan smiled softly at the sight of the man who had just recently claimed that he didn’t need to sleep. He shifted so that Phil was properly leaning against him, wrapping an arm around the other teacher while he was at it. Dan was certain that the bus had gotten 50% quieter when he did so, most of the students being hyper aware of literally anything they did. He didn’t dwell on it for too long though. Phil proceeded to sleep the entire way back to the school, letting out heavy sighs in his sleep at different intervals, which Dan found was absolutely adorable. Not that everything else the other did wasn’t.

The two teachers barely saw each other the next few days. Dan had been busy trying to catch up on the missed marking that should have happened while he was on the band trip as of late, Phil not wanting to disrupt that. It was the height of 'Marking Armageddon’ as they both referred to it as, so he could only drop by for short amounts of time to say hi.

On Thursday, Dan didn’t see Phil once. They’d barely even texted, and though it shouldn’t bother him too much it really did. It bothered Phil too. He knew Dan was busy though, and therefore pushed every thought of wanting to see him out of his brain for the sake of selflessness. On Friday, Dan huddled up into the corner of the English office with his third or fourth cup of coffee. He was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping him going at this point. Phil had brought him a cup that morning and had quickly come to say hi, but there hadn’t been much to the conversation. They’d both enjoyed the short exchange though, because it was far better than nothing, but Dan missed their actual conversations.

When the end of the day came, Dan decided that he wouldn’t mind getting to bed an hour later to make up for missed marking time in exchange for seeing Phil. Honestly, his mental state would probably be better if he took a break. Therefore, when his planning period ended signalling the end of the day, Dan decided to quickly finish marking the assignment he was on so he could head down to the music room, hopeful that Phil would still be there.

Five minutes later, Dan was headed down the stairs towards the music hall, a trip he hadn’t made since he’d come back from the band trip.

He pushed the door open and was about to step into the music room, still walking at a brisk pace, just as Phil tried to exit. They both almost crashed into each other, Phil’s hands landing on Dan’s upper chest near his shoulders to brace himself. Dan reached for the nearest thing he could find to steady himself which happened to be Phil’s hip and the door frame just beside his head. They were crowded together in the doorway of the empty music room, and all Dan could do was shakily exhale. It had been a solid few days since he’d properly seen Phil. He’d almost forgotten how blue his eyes were, especially up this close. He’d forgotten how Phil had the smallest of creases between his eyebrows, how the bridge of his nose arched and how absolutely beautiful he was. Not that he’d ever forgotten since the first time he’d greeted Phil in this very room, but he must say the view was better up close. Very up close.

Phil smiled softly and unsure, noticing Dan’s eyes immediately jumping to his lips to follow the movement. Dan gulped, and Phil’s eyes leapt to that before immediately springing back up to Dan’s brown eyes hoping he hadn’t noticed. He had though, and was now staring back at Phil with exactly the same intensity. Neither made an effort to move nor change their expression, giving nothing away about the rushing thoughts bouncing around in their heads. It took Phil a few moments to actually think coherently.

“It’s been pretty boring in here, with you marking and all.” Phil mumbled, trying to break the silence despite not moving away. He didn’t want to, to put it simply, and he didn’t think Dan wanted to move either.

“I missed you,” Dan breathed, not really thinking before speaking. He quickly opened his mouth to backtrack. “I know it’s barely been a day, and that probably sounds really stupid, b-”

He was cut off immediately as Phil inched forward and placed his lips on Dan’s to stop the rambling. Dan let out a squeak of surprise, gripping so tight on the door frame that his knuckles were probably turning white. He then actually remembered to think, moving his lips against Phil’s in return and finding rhythm in it. This was finally happening, and Dan would’ve mentally slap himself for eighteen years if he’d managed to screw it up by forgetting to do something as simple as kissing back. Especially if it was Phil. 

Phil smiled against Dan’s lips, because kissing him was what he hadn’t been bold enough to do for the past three months. Dan wasn’t pulling away. He was reciprocating. Phil had to wonder how much things were going to change, honestly looking forward to it. He broke the kiss off to simply rest his forehead against Dan’s for a second, remembering to breathe before pulling away to properly look at Dan’s face again. His eyes opened a few seconds later.

“You were gonna ramble.” Phil whispered, smiling softly at the younger. Dan shrugged meekly.

“Wouldn’t take it back. There weren’t any negative consequences.” He mumbled, smiling bashfully. Phil shook his head teasingly, sliding one hand down Dan’s chest to meet his hand, lacing their fingers together. Dan looked down to follow the action before looking back up to Phil.

“Part of me wishes you would have rambled a lot sooner.” Phil replied, Dan laughing softly.

“I can always just ramble more now to make up for it, because I wholeheartedly agree with you and think tha-” Phil cut him off again, pressing his lips to Dan’s with more force this time, laughing into the kiss. Dan smiled fondly in reply, pushing Phil further back into the music room without breaking contact. The two stumbled backwards a few steps before Phil’s lower back hit the edge of the piano, letting out a small noise of surprise into the kiss. Dan increased his grip on Phil as a reflex, chuckling as he pulled away again.

“You’re lucky I’m here to hold you up.” He mumbled, leaning in to trap Phil’s lips in another quick kiss, drawing his lower lip across Phil’s. God, he’d wanted this for so long.

“You were the one,” Phil started, kissing Dan between words, “- that pushed me - into the piano.” Dan laughed, lifting the hand that wasn’t interlocked with Phil’s to cup his cheek. Phil moved his free hand to Dan’s hip, needing somewhere to place it.

“You were the one,” Dan prepared to counter, “who had to have pretty and distracting eyes,” he retorted continuing to peck at Phil’s lips. “They’re much nicer to look than the surrounding area.” Phil smiled, pulling away from the kisses, mouth opened to reply when instead his eyes widened in surprise. He saw a head pop into the doorway to the music room, Dan’s brow creasing in quick confusion as a response to seeing Phil’s avert his gaze.

The girl’s face peered in, a surprised expression leaping onto her face as Dan almost jumped backwards at the sound of someone else present. He turned to meet the eyes of the girl from Phil’s fourth period class, a smile starting to inch it’s way onto her face. Her eyes lowered quickly to their intertwined hands before leaping back up to their surprised expressions, her own remaining unchanged. It was the same girl who always gave Dan those knowing looks, the same girl who saw him staring after Phil on the first day. She stepped into the room, grabbing her book from the cabinet at the front of the room.

“Left my book,” She smiled, stifling an explosive smile. “See you Monday.” She left as quickly as she’d appeared, Dan turning back with an exhale and moving closer to Phil. Phil laughed, wrapping both arms around Dan’s waist as the younger moved his forehead to rest on Phil’s shoulder, looking down at the almost non-existent space between them. Dan then laughed too, the noise contagious. They quickly quieted down though, Dan standing straight again despite Phil’s grip staying where it was.

“How much marking do you have left?” Phil asked, tilting his head. “Because I missed you too. Way too much. We weren’t even apart for long at all.” Dan smiled.

“Not much.” He lied. He’d waited months for this, and now it was the work’s time to wait. Phil smiled, giving a quiet 'good’ before moving back to plant his lips on Dan’s again, this time with more force than both times before. Dan brought a hand to the back of Phil’s head, bringing him even closer. Phil sighed, lips parting and giving Dan something to take advantage of. 

“I can feel your heart,” Phil mumbled into the kiss, cupping Dan’s jaw. “It feels like a song.” Dan pulled away to look him, eyes bright with fondness.

“You tell a great story, Phil.” Dan whispered, clasping his hands behind Phil’s neck. “And I think it might be my favourite yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> so guess who finally got an ao3 account (that would be me) i'm actually really happy with this fic and was even happier i got it to like 12.5k words (how did that happen?) anyways i'm really proud of it and i'd looooove to hear what you think :)


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